By daylight I fumed at myself for running off on my own.
My pride and stubborn self-reliance has only ever brought me ruination.
I turned my stryder back toward where I'd left Nida, near the edges of this wheel.
I set aside my own desire to recover the mineral wealth I had lost once, and my half-memories of a previous life's pursuit of power.
There was only this moment, and this chance to do something right, for once in my miserable existence.
I pushed the machine to its breaking point, urging it into a full gallop toward the girl I'd abandoned to an unfair fight.
As I re-crossed that landscape shame gnawed at me, for the way I'd reacted to the dream she'd painted for me.
She'd only wanted to show me a sunset on the world I was destined to tame, far from these gardens she and her people had kept alive for a future they never thought they'd see.